@article {Weiss384, author = {Kenneth J. Weiss}, title = {Arsenic, Familicide, and Female Physiology in Nineteenth-Century America}, volume = {48}, number = {3}, pages = {384--392}, year = {2020}, doi = {10.29158/JAAPL.003927-20}, publisher = {Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online}, abstract = {Sarah Jane Whiteling was accused of fatally poisoning her husband and two children in Philadelphia in 1888. The case prompted public outrage over the appearance that Ms. Whiteling{\textquoteright}s motive was to collect life insurance. It was evident, however, that she was disturbed, raising a question of culpability. Dr. Alice Bennett, the first female physician in charge of an asylum, provided the defense with expert testimony on the defendant{\textquoteright}s mental state. Dr. Bennett, who had little forensic but much clinical experience, proposed a physiological theory of insanity among women with reproduction-related derangements. At that time, cultural ideas about {\textquotedblleft}female poisoners{\textquotedblright} colored popular and journalistic perceptions of Ms. Whiteling. Familicide was considered unconscionable because a mother{\textquoteright}s duty was to nurture and protect her family. When Ms. Whiteling was convicted and sentenced to death, Dr. Bennett undertook a campaign for commutation. Her unsuccessful efforts to reduce culpability were followed by Ms. Whiteling{\textquoteright}s hanging in 1889, the first execution of a woman in Philadelphia since colonial times. This article recounts the Whiteling case, Dr. Bennett{\textquoteright}s involvement in it, and how it relates to what is known about familicide. It is argued here that Dr. Bennett was a pioneer in applying medical expert testimony to effect individualized mitigation.}, issn = {1093-6793}, URL = {https://jaapl.org/content/48/3/384}, eprint = {https://jaapl.org/content/48/3/384.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online} }